By: Chloe Sun

Seventeen-year-old Domini Claseman saw that his hometown Olivia did not have a veteran’s memorial, he decided to build one himself. He decided to build it for his Eagle Scout project.

To get ideas, he went to nearby towns and studied their memorials. Eventually he came up with a good design. To raise money he started fundraising, but, for Eagle Scout projects, you are not meant to use digital communication. So, he launched campaigns at local events, “I was originally picturing just a walkway and 21 boot steps and pavers on the side, along with a couple of flags.” Claseman said. He estimated this would cost $15,000, But his community loved the idea of a veteran’s memorial, and he made a shocking grand total of about $77,777.

He improved the memorial design to fit the new, larger budget he had. The memorial was presented to the public memorial day, during the ceremony his neighbors told him how much they appreciated what they did for the town.